In 1878, Mrs Charlotte Anderson founded an private school for girls in her home at Bulleen Road, Kew (now 63 High Street South, Kew). She moved her school to ‘Edgecomb’, in Studley Park Road in 1882 and named it Ruyton. Charlotte Anderson retired in 1888, and sold her school to Miss Eliza Bromby. This image was used to illustrate The Ruytonian, June 1915, p2. The date of manufacture of the duplicate photograph is unknown.Black & white duplicate photograph of Mrs Charlotte Anderson with staff and a group of younger students from Ruyton Girls’ School, c.1885. The group is arranged in three rows of seated and standing individuals, and is located on a garden setting. The photograph was taken at ‘Edgecomb’, Studley Park Road, Kew which was the location of Ruyton from 1882-1888. Mrs Anderson is seated in the middle row, third from right. ruyton girls' school, kew, charlotte anderson

Mrs Charlotte Anderson was born Charlotte Eliza Alsop in England in 1838 and arrived in Australia in 1848. She married lawyer James Anderson in 1864, and in the year of his death in 1878 she became the founding owner-Principal of Ruyton Girls' School, Kew. Mrs Anderson operated Ruyton initially in her own home of 63 Bulleen Road, Kew (now 63 High Street South). According to Ruyton histories, Mrs Anderson is said to have begun the school with her own two sons, four daughters and some of her Alsop nieces and nephews who resided in Kew. Around the time of the addition of Maud King, the first student outside the family, the school changed to a 'Ladies College', and the boys were sent elsewhere for their education. By late 1881 Mrs Anderson began using the name 'Ruyton' for the school, in honour of a connection to Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire, England where her great-grandfather had been vicar and where she was baptised. In 1882 Mrs Anderson moved the School to Edgecomb in Studley Park Road from 1882-1888. The larger premises enabled her to begin accepting boarding students from 1882. She retired due to ill health and sold the school to her friend Miss Eliza Bromby. Mrs Anderson lived at 'Bongamero', in the King Valley, Victoria until her death in 1906. She is buried in Boroondara Cemetery. One of Ruyton's four Houses, Anderson, is named for Charlotte Anderson. Artwork AC/0099 is a framed reproduction photograph of an original portrait of Mrs Anderson, c.1900-1906. The location and date of the original photograph is unknown, but may be held among Ruyton papers at the State Library of Victoria (MS 12079). The reproduction was probably created to be part of the gallery of Principals and significant people for the Conference/Boardroom, Henty House.A framed, black & white reproduction of a photographic portrait. The portrait shows the head and shoulders of a middle aged woman wearing Victorian-era clothing including a dark ribbon tied around her collar. She wears a lace cap on her head, and the cap's tail is draped around her shoulders. The woman's body is partially turned away from the camera, while her face is turned toward the camera. Plaque on frame: "Mrs Charlotte Anderson/ 1878-1888"charlotte anderson, ruyton, ruyton girls' school, kew (vic), bulleen road, high street south, studley park road, edgecomb, woman, school, teacher, principal, anderson, reproduction, 1990s

Ruyton was founded in 1878 in the Bulleen Road, Kew, home of newly widowed Mrs Charlotte Anderson (now High Street South). There she hired a governess, Miss Flora Barton, to educate a small group of children, including her own, in her front parlour. Her school immediately flourished. By 1882 she was able to move it to larger premises at ‘Edgecomb’, in Studley Park Road, and name it Ruyton, after a family connection with the village of Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire, England. Since that time Ruyton has continued to thrive, outgrowing its Edgecomb site, and another at A’Beckett Street, Kew, before settling into its current home in Selbourne Road in 1920. The centrepiece of this property is Henty House, now named for its original owners, Henry and Marion Henty, but once known as ‘Tarring’. The grand, polychrome brick home was built in 1872 and with nearly four acres of gardens and grounds around it, it has proved to be a place where Ruyton and its students could continue to prosper. (source: Ruyton website 2020)Prospectus provided in response to an enrolment inquiry in 1950 for Ruyton Girls' Grammar School. (See also Item 2016.0468)ruyton girls grammar school